1.0 Executive Summary
China should consider adhering to ethical requirements in decision making in the future by taking account of the impact made to the larger society and not just their interests
Adopt effective policies that meet the concerns of the global community and not just the interests of China in the exploitation of the rare earth metals
2.0 Introduction
In the current global setting, ethical consideration is taken into account to ensure that projects meet their intended goals/objectives in the most efficient way. It, therefore, means that to achieve the desired goals of projects, organizations should not have any negative effect on other parties. It is the role of the project managers to ensure that they take into account the different political and social considerations to avoid any spillover effects on other parties (Ethical Theories, 2010). Moreover, in its implication, the ethical value of any given project should not be undervalued whatsoever as for the case of China project in the mining of rare earth metals.
Some of the important ethical considerations to be reviewed for the above case include understanding the implication of China's decision to limit export of the product to the global market. The author, therefore, seeks to understand the impact of the decision made by China concerning the mining project, effects on other users in different parts of the world and sectors that depend on the products (Hayes-Labruto et al., 2013 p. 55-65). The purpose of this study, therefore, is to explore the case of China and the mining process while at the same time explains the various ethical issues resulting from the decision.
The problem statement for the above study is that China wishes to limit its exportation of rare metals to the international market with an objective to create a strategic reserve. The decision has many ethical implications to people and the various economic sectors that depend on the products which can adequately be supplied by the country. This aspect has created a massive crisis in the high-tech industry. Such industries have a difficulty accessing to raw materials to resume their normal operations due to the strict limitation imposed by their principal supplier. Although the decision impacts well to China's economic development, the decision is however faced with a lot of ethical challenges as it has more adverse effects. The restriction to limit the supply of the products to the international market has significantly led to an escalation of the cost of achieving energy efficient technologies and products.
3.0 Ethical Theories and Principles
For the above case study, it is important to understand the business ethics concerning the use of natural resources, an objective that can be achieved through the application of the environmental values. The concept helps project managers to understand how people should relate to their natural resource, relations with other living things and consistent readjustment to meet sustainability. The first approach that should be applied in the above case is the conservation ethics (shallow ecology) which requires that natural resources are valuable to people and should be used towards meeting their needs (Wagner & Dahnke, 2015 p. 304). However, the theory further indicates that the same resources should be conserved to serve the welfare of the future generations as for the case of China. The conservation concept holds that natural resources are valuable to people in diverse ways: In the effort to achieve conservation goals, the re-use of the materials, minimizing consumption and recycling of the same are important virtues to practice. The theory holds that environmental benefit is justified to be damaged if at all it has more benefit to humans as for the case of the exploitation of the rare earth metals.
Another important approach to consider in the above case is the qualitative Utilitarianism as it takes account of the moral action that achieves maximum pleasure to all the involved stakeholders. The above theory is the most applicable as it weighs the total amount of pleasure and pain that is achieved through embracing a given decision. As for our case, the theory would have considered the impact generated by the decision to restrict the sale of the rare metals to the international market and monopolizing supply and decide on the best approach that realizes maximum satisfaction to majority. Another possible approach to applying for our study is the virtue ethics as the theory seeks to understand the relation between man and the natural environment (Gillich, 2015 p. 28). Although the theory does not focus on the conservation of the natural resources, it has emphasized on the nature of relation that is maintained in society. For a successful business, policies help regulate the nature of our connection locally and on the global scale to enhance the prospects of globalization.
4.0 Case Study Analysis
Various ethical issues face China's restriction on the export of rare metals to the international market as will be explained in the above section. The first concern is that China took a monopolistic approach in restricting exportation of the rare metals to the international market, an issue that violates the various policies set in place by the international trade. This, therefore, means that the country does not allow for free movement of goods and product in the global market as expected of it by the international law and the fact that it is the leading producer of the same.
Moreover, rare earth metals are critical in the manufacturing industry as it produces essential devices required for the production of medical equipment, phones, and other significant electronic products. The country provides 95% of the total production experienced in the world, and the limitation is implied to prevent overproduction, an issue that will help the country to conserve its resources (George, Schillebeeckx&Teng Lit, 2015, p. 160). Ethically, the state has failed in reviewing the benefits resulting from the use of the above products as it has more benefits to the existing users than conserving it. The country's decision to favor domestic manufacturers over the international market should be abolished whatsoever as it is unethical. The decision has adversely affected the international communities that utilize the technological products and entirely depend on the rare metals for their production.
Another reason as to why China should review its decision is because they are likely to impact negatively on the foreign users of the products fabricated from the rare materials. Engineering is a field of social experimentation and will be adversely affected by the decision, a feature that will restrict the efficient use of energy and other services dependent on the rare metals. Instead, before implementing its restriction decision, the country ought to evaluate the likely impact on the supply and demand in the global market. Moreover, the country did not exploit all methods of securing a strategic advantage in the market as far as the exportation of rare earth metals is concerned. Restriction of exportation of the rare metals was not a rational decision to be taken by China as it has a lot of unethical issues attached to it.
However, scholars have echoed their concerns on the matter indicating that China failed to exploit the full range of moral values linked to the subject in its effort to meet its self-interest (Kiggins, 2015). The country failed significantly to consider various ethical issues that are in line with various export restriction policies as required by the international trading agreements to enhance free trading. According to moral consideration of effective project management, it is necessary that before making any decision, stakeholders should take into account the wider implication of the decisions. Rational decisions should thus be made to help solve a challenge, and the potential impact related to the decision should not have adverse spillover effects on other parties. In line with this consideration, it is worth noting that China only considered the benefits resulting from the decision and did not adequately seek to understand the wider implication of the decision. Therefore, the strategy to monopolize the supply of the rare earth metals was not a wise decision as it has a lot of distortive effects to other members of the society.
Besides, another ethical concern on China's decision includes the environmental concerns raised by the move to monopolize the matter. The mining sector is a sensitive area in the industry particularly in the interest of rare earth minerals as it concerns natural resources which are subject to depletion. However, for the project managers to be considered as environmentally responsible, they ought to make rational decisions to meet the right business need.The decision should be the best alternative use to be adopted to address the needs of the users in the most efficient way possible (Ramos, Rahman& IGI, 2013).
It is imperative to find out whether China took the decision based on its responsibility to protect the environment or else with an objective to monopolize the supply of the rare metal. The country should consider adopting coherent mining practices implying the rational use of the natural resources to prevent future depletion of the same. Such practices considered for purposes of managing the resources should affirm that the mining project achieves sustainability and equitable economic development.
Another aspect of concern with the above case study includes the fact that the rare metal should be developed and used within China. The decision implies that production and importation of the same will be limited to a great extent, a feature that will significantly constrain technological development. The raw material (rare earth metal) plays a significant role in technological development as it is used in the development of various products. Restricting the movement of the material will be unethical as it constrains effort towards meeting the goals of technological development. Moreover, the cost of innovation has substantially increased as evidenced in the case with an increase of about 37%, as per 2011 hence a significance hindrance in global development. According to scholars, they consider the move to hold the international community to ransom, an aspect that will contribute to the technological crisis in the world. However, to prevent recurrence of such a case in future, it is recommended that China should be made to adopt policies that incorporate global interest and avoid any restriction of exportation of the rare earth metals.
5.0 Conclusion
China’s decision to restrict movement of the rare earth metal is considered unethical for various reasons as it compromised the development of the global economy at its expense. Monopolizing the supply of the above raw material is considered as a sure method of achieving economic efficacy but only takes the interest of China and neglects the mutual benefit of the global economy. The practice prevents the occurrence of equilibrium of the material in the international market, leading to more exploitation of the users. An ethical concern that is evidenced by the above situation is that China failed to understand the fact that natural resources are meant to benefit people from different parts of the world equally. To realize the moral concerns directed to it, the country should not exploit the rare product to achieve its interest while neglecting those of others in the international community through imposing such restrictions.
In conclusion, the above case study indicates a lot of ethical issues such as the environmental role of the country to limit overproduction and maintain a sustainable supply of the rare earth metals. Ethnically, the state is mandated to minimize production and export of the same because of the nature of the resources as they are subject to depletion. However, to express its commitment to establish a sustainable environment, overproduction should be accomplished on both domestic and the international scale.
6.0 Bibliography
Ethical Theories' 2010, Credo Reference Collections., EBSCOhost, viewed 15 April 2016.
Gillich, I (2015) ‘The Normativity of Principles within the Positivist Theory of International Law', North Carolina Journal of International Law & Commercial Regulation, 41, 1, pp. 1-30.
George, G., Schillebeeckx, S.J.D. and Liak, T.L. (2015) ‘The management of natural resources: An overview and research agenda’, Academy of Management Journal, 58(6), pp. 1595–1613
Hayes-Labruto, L., Schillebeeckx, S.J.D., Workman, M. and Shah, N. (2013) ‘Contrasting perspectives on china’s rare earths policies: Reframing the debate through a stakeholder lens’, Energy Policy, 63, pp. 55–68.
Kiggins, RD (2015) The Political Economy Of Rare Earth Elements : Rising Powers And Technological Change. Houndmills, Basingstoke Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, Discovery eBooks.
Ramos, I, Rahman, H, & IGI (G 2013) Ethical Data Mining Applications For Socio-Economic Development. Hershey, Pa: IGI Global, Discovery eBooks.
Wagner, J.M. and Dahnke, M.D. (2015) ‘Nursing ethics and disaster triage: Applying utilitarian ethical theory’, Journal of Emergency Nursing, 41(4), pp. 300–306.
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